Sponsoring that employee for a private degree course in the hopes that they’ll return better equipped to deal with their work? It will, but attaining that private degree – if it’s their first formal degree qualifications – also leads the employee expecting a 35% salary raise to commensurate with that extra knowledge. According to the 2012 JobsCentral Learning Rankings And Survey Report, which surveyed 5,476 respondents online from September to October this year, adult learners expect a 35% salary raise after landing their first private degree, and 23% of those respondents even believe that degree qualifications can lead to a 50% raise or more.

24.6% of survey respondents also expect to get 50% increase and above in wages when they attain post-graduate qualifications such as a Masters, PhD or MBA. But human resource professionals warn that such expectations are unlikely to be met by employers. “Most employers acknowledge their employees’ new qualifications but will not automatically increase pay,” says Mr Lim Der Shing, CEO of JobsCentral Group. “Usually a pay increment will only be given if the employee is outperforming, underpaid or taking on new duties. It is important to discuss wage expectations with your employer before you embark on a costly education program.”

“There seems to be a co-relation between number of workers seeking further education and the state of the economy. In 2009, we saw recessions in many parts of the world and in that year, 79.3% of the people surveyed were keen on further education. As the economy recovered in the next two years, the percentages dropped. It’s too early to tell, but if the current gloomy and uncertain economic sentiments continue, we may see a gradual increase in adults applying for further learning in 2013,” Mr Lim adds.

Other interesting insights from the survey:

– Adult learners are willing to pay more for education: 93.4% of respondents cited ‘Recognition of Certificate’ as their top priority when deciding on a school for further learning, while ‘Reputation’ and ‘Course Fees’ coming in second and third place.

– Kaplan has replaced SIM on the top of the list of 64 preferred private education institutes this year. SIM Global Education drops to second, after holding the top ranking for three years. PSB Academy remains as the third most popular PEI.

– Business Studies/Management courses remain the most popular course of study, while Accounting courses are surging in popularity. Interest in Sciences/Applied Sciences, on the other hand, is waning.

Here’s an infographic that gives you an idea on the numbers emerging from the report:

Daniel Goh is the founder and chief editor of Young | Upstarts, as well as an F&B entrepreneur. Daniel has a background in public relations, and is interested in issues in entrepreneurship, small business, marketing, public relations and the online space. He can be reached at daniel [at] youngupstarts [dot] com.